NEW StrangeBrew Elsinore Thread

[jangevaa]

Also, I noticed in using the startup script for debian, the port is listed as 8088, although it has been listed as 8080 elsewhere (in the configuration files and all of the tutorials) - easy fix, but just FYI.

FYI - that's because it was my personal service script that I contributed to the repository. If using the Beaglebone Black Debian image, 8080 is the default apache port... in order to avoid the port conflict it was just easier for me to specify a different port for SBE in the service script. A message regarding this prints if you load the script with `sudo service elsinore start`, but if its launching SBE on startup you will not have seen that.

 

[jangevaa]

So I did a fresh install and got everything running the way it was before. I still have the following issues with the UI:

1. Modifications to the gauge sizes for the various temp sensors do not save after restarting SB
2. I can add switches, but the buttons do not respond in the browser. They do reappear after restart.
3. The output to the relay for my ferm chamber does not work.
4. "Check for updates" button also does not respond.

Check out this information on reporting bugs: https://www.reddit.com/r/StrangeBrew/wiki/bugs

FWIW, I've had the opposite experience with change gauge sizes. They only update after a restart.

Buttons are working for me in Safari (both OSX and iOS) I wonder if you have some browser-specific issues?

Have you metered your GPIO to ensure you're not having a problem with your relay? I had a number of issues with the cheap sainsmart relays for instance (SSRs have always worked well for me)...

Haven't tried the "checking for updates button" recently. I don't think it does anything if there hasn't been any updates however... Check elsinore.log (see above link for help).

 

[brad2thebone]

Check out this information on reporting bugs: https://www.reddit.com/r/StrangeBrew/wiki/bugs

FWIW, I've had the opposite experience with change gauge sizes. They only update after a restart.

Buttons are working for me in Safari (both OSX and iOS) I wonder if you have some browser-specific issues?

Have you metered your GPIO to ensure you're not having a problem with your relay? I had a number of issues with the cheap sainsmart relays for instance (SSRs have always worked well for me)...

Haven't tried the "checking for updates button" recently. I don't think it does anything if there hasn't been any updates however... Check elsinore.log (see above link for help).

Thanks for your insight.

As for the bug reporting, I will look into it. I guess that the very recent discussions on this board indicated to me that this might be the place to discuss the issues, but I hadn't come across the reddit for SBE.

I was able to fix the switches this morning. I had incorrectly driven the relays.

The gauge sizes are still reverting to large after rebooting.

Cheers!

 

[Bassman2003]

Hello,

I am using SBE with a Hosehead controller and have not updated SB for a little while. I will do this soon but wanted to ask if there was a way to start the server with a mouse click? Right now I am typing the command in a prompt window. I would like to eliminate the keyboard and only have a mouse plugged into the Hosehead.

Thanks for your help.

 

[trnitz]

... a way to start the server with a mouse click?

I don't believe so, but you can run it as a service, so it runs automatically on startup.

https://www.reddit.com/r/StrangeBrew/wiki/service

 

[Bassman2003]

Hey Thanks. The Hosehead runs on Rasberry Pi II. Do you think this service capability would work on that OS?

 

[wyzazz]

Yep, it works on my Pi2.

 

[Bassman2003]

Thank you.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

So i could use some help with my circuit, i thought i was on track but now i am a bit confused.

I was very loosely basing it on this PJ Diagram, for everything except the PID obviously.

Inventory of what i have
3 Way Toggle for HLT or BK
3 120V Coil 240V Contactors
2 40A Relays

I was planning on strictly using SBE to power on/off the pumps rather than have a switch.

Looking at this schematic, again, did i only need one SSR this entire time? If the switch is controlling the coils for both, and the SSR is sending the HOT2 voltage in what is the point of having a second SSR? Im totally confused all of a sudden how a second SSR fits in or what the purpose is when most builds use them?

If you did use two SSR's i assume their inputs are wired to seperate GPIO pins you define in SBE?

Thanks!

*EDIT*

I think i need to be following something more like this?

 

[wyzazz]

Use 1 SSR for your element, and the other for your pump. The first diagram is the way I would go for your elements.

 

[BrunDog]

You don't need an SSR for the pump, but a relay coil can't be powered directly by the GPIO. So it would need to be a transistor triggered relay. So you could use a relay board and have growth for more relays or just use another SSR.

-BD

 

[wyzazz]

You don't need an SSR for the pump, but a relay coil can't be powered directly by the GPIO. So it would need to be a transistor triggered relay. So you could use a relay board and have growth for more relays or just use another SSR.

-BD

IIRC others running the Raspberry Pi/Elsinore combo have had issues using relay boards. Not sure if it's Elsinore, The Pi, the Boards folks are picking up, but the general consensus has been to just use an SSR as it seems to be more reliable in this situation. I have a bunch of SSR's at home so that's what I use for my soft switches.

 

[wbarber69]

So i could use some help with my circuit, i thought i was on track but now i am a bit confused.

I was very loosely basing it on this PJ Diagram, for everything except the PID obviously.

Inventory of what i have
3 Way Toggle for HLT or BK
3 120V Coil 240V Contactors
2 40A Relays

I was planning on strictly using SBE to power on/off the pumps rather than have a switch.

Looking at this schematic, again, did i only need one SSR this entire time? If the switch is controlling the coils for both, and the SSR is sending the HOT2 voltage in what is the point of having a second SSR? Im totally confused all of a sudden how a second SSR fits in or what the purpose is when most builds use them?

If you did use two SSR's i assume their inputs are wired to seperate GPIO pins you define in SBE?

Thanks!

*EDIT*

I think i need to be following something more like this?

A lot of people use 2 SSRs to totally isolated the heater from mains voltage. Because there are 2 live wires going to it. Using one ssr will work but you'll always have live current all the way to the unit on one leg. It's not a problem unless you trip a lot, or are accident prone.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

A lot of people use 2 SSRs to totally isolated the heater from mains voltage. Because there are 2 live wires going to it. Using one ssr will work but you'll always have live current all the way to the unit on one leg. It's not a problem unless you trip a lot, or are accident prone.

Wouldn't the first picture not have this problem though? The other contactors control the power to the elements and those coils are hooked up to the 3 way switch?

 

[wyzazz]

Wouldn't the first picture not have this problem though? The other contactors control the power to the elements and those coils are hooked up to the 3 way switch?

Correct!:rockin:

 

[wyzazz]

Those contactors are like an ON/OFF switch for the elements. High Voltage flows through the contactors/relays that are connected to a low voltage switch on your control panel. I use mine to kill my element after the boil. This way I can keep my control panel energized to monitor temps and utilize my pump.

 

[doug293cz]

A lot of people use 2 SSRs to totally isolated the heater from mains voltage. Because there are 2 live wires going to it. Using one ssr will work but you'll always have live current all the way to the unit on one leg. It's not a problem unless you trip a lot, or are accident prone.

It's better to use a contactor to be sure that the elements are disconnected from power when turned off. SSR's usually fail in the on state, so if you have an SSR failure, at least one side of your element will be hot, unless you have another disconnect in series.

Brew on

 

[wbarber69]

Wouldn't the first picture not have this problem though? The other contactors control the power to the elements and those coils are hooked up to the 3 way switch?

Yes I was just making note as to why you always see so many SSRs in some people diagrams. It's all just a matter of how you want to do it.

 

[wbarber69]

It's better to use a contactor to be sure that the elements are disconnected from power when turned off. SSR's usually fail in the on state, so if you have an SSR failure, at least one side of your element will be hot, unless you have another disconnect in series.



Brew on

I never said that they weren't.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Learned the local homebrew club in my area now where i moved is called StrangeBrew.
And im almost done with my SBE box...

Destiny? I think so.

That is all.

 

[markgm]

What program did you use to make that second diagram, that looks pretty slick!

I use a relay board in my setup, wound up using a Darlington array to power the 6 SSRs and the relay board. Pretty dead simple to do.

 

[stratslinger]

I'm working on getting my pi set up with Elsinore now (thanks to everyone on this thread, and especially to Doug!), and I'm running into what I figure is a self imposed problem, but I can't figure it out for the life of me...

I've got my pi wired up to two channels of a sainsmart relay array - running off of GPIO 24 and 25, inverted the output of the GPIO, everything's working out perfectly there. Elsinore can successfully switch those channels off an on as I'd expect, and the switch config is still there on future boots of the pi.

I wired up a pair of onewire temp probes. Everything worked out up to that point - elsinore sees the probes, I can rename them, and the probes (with their new names) are still there on future reboots of the pi.

But when I try to assign a GPIO to the heating channel of the probe, I can't seem to make it work. I plug in the GPIO (I'm using 22 for probe1 and 23 for probe2), and I can't seem to send a signal to the GPIO at that point. It looks like the probe config updates, but when I attempt to fire up that particular channel on manual (using 100% duty cycle, 10 second cycle time), a multimeter shows no signal ever passes on the designated GPIO. If I try to edit the probe again, the heater entry doesn't list any GPIO, and if I reboot, the probes both go back to having no controls assigned at all (just temperature readouts).

So, any idea what I might be doing wrong to generate this sort of result?

EDIT: Wouldn't you know it - no sooner do I post this, than I give it one more try and it works? Is there some kind of hangup or issue if you run Elsinore by adding

sudo /home/pi/BrewServer/launch.sh

to /etc/rc.local? That's the one difference here - I was running it that way, then on a lark I commented it out, rebooted, and manually logged in and kicked off launch.sh...

 

[wbarber69]

I'm working on getting my pi set up with Elsinore now (thanks to everyone on this thread, and especially to Doug!), and I'm running into what I figure is a self imposed problem, but I can't figure it out for the life of me...

I've got my pi wired up to two channels of a sainsmart relay array - running off of GPIO 24 and 25, inverted the output of the GPIO, everything's working out perfectly there. Elsinore can successfully switch those channels off an on as I'd expect, and the switch config is still there on future boots of the pi.

I wired up a pair of onewire temp probes. Everything worked out up to that point - elsinore sees the probes, I can rename them, and the probes (with their new names) are still there on future reboots of the pi.

But when I try to assign a GPIO to the heating channel of the probe, I can't seem to make it work. I plug in the GPIO (I'm using 22 for probe1 and 23 for probe2), and I can't seem to send a signal to the GPIO at that point. It looks like the probe config updates, but when I attempt to fire up that particular channel on manual (using 100% duty cycle, 10 second cycle time), a multimeter shows no signal ever passes on the designated GPIO. If I try to edit the probe again, the heater entry doesn't list any GPIO, and if I reboot, the probes both go back to having no controls assigned at all (just temperature readouts).

So, any idea what I might be doing wrong to generate this sort of result?

EDIT: Wouldn't you know it - no sooner do I post this, than I give it one more try and it works? Is there some kind of hangup or issue if you run Elsinore by adding

sudo /home/pi/BrewServer/launch.sh

to /etc/rc.local? That's the one difference here - I was running it that way, then on a lark I commented it out, rebooted, and manually logged in and kicked off launch.sh...

Did you try rebooting after adding the probes?

 

[user 101620]

EDIT: Wouldn't you know it - no sooner do I post this, than I give it one more try and it works? Is there some kind of hangup or issue if you run Elsinore by adding

sudo /home/pi/BrewServer/launch.sh

to /etc/rc.local? That's the one difference here - I was running it that way, then on a lark I commented it out, rebooted, and manually logged in and kicked off launch.sh...

When you launch this way I suspect a path isn't being generated correctly, you could try adding debug to it, but I'm not sure if adding scripts that hang around should be done in rc.local, I always use services.

 

[stratslinger]

Thanks Doug - I'll have to dig into setting up services on raspbian...

 

[Borisfa]

I have no sucess to put my SSR to be turned on by RPi. I am using GPIO 24 (GPIO24) and when I try put PID to heat HLT, the algoritm tell me that is heating, but SSR doesnt switch on. May I ue some overlay for GPIO24?

Thanks for any help,

Fabiano da Mata

 

[TechyDork]

I have no sucess to put my SSR to be turned on by RPi. I am using GPIO 24 (GPIO24) and when I try put PID to heat HLT, the algoritm tell me that is heating, but SSR doesnt switch on. May I ue some overlay for GPIO24?

Thanks for any help,

Fabiano da Mata

Have you tried using other GPIOs to fire the SSR?

 

[user 101620]

I have no sucess to put my SSR to be turned on by RPi. I am using GPIO 24 (GPIO24) and when I try put PID to heat HLT, the algoritm tell me that is heating, but SSR doesnt switch on. May I ue some overlay for GPIO24?

Thanks for any help,

Fabiano da Mata

24 should be fine, are you running as root? Can you show your wiring diagram?

 

[Borisfa]

Have you tried using other GPIOs to fire the SSR?

I tried other GPIOs, with no sucess.

24 should be fine, are you running as root? Can you show your wiring diagram?

I run as Pi user. I will take picture when I come back home.

I used a Debian instalation where I was using Brewpi. Do you agree I have to reformat my microSD again and start a new instalation?

Thanks,

Fabiano

 

[user 101620]

I run as Pi user. I will take picture when I come back home.

How do you launch Elsinore? Do you use the launch script provided?

I used a Debian instalation where I was using Brewpi. Do you agree I have to reformat my microSD again and start a new instalation?

I've never installed BrewPi, but if it leaves scripts around that hold the pins for itself, you may need to clean install.